We have certain 'cryptozoologists' in the UK who pretend at being serious researchers whose reputations cannot be impued...or that's what they like people to think. They are not beyond being facts to their own ends or even hoaxing themselves. And we mustn't rule out someone 'having a laugh.'

Personally, I would have tackled the hoaxer.

Here is another story of such a hoax from the Metro:

A terrified walker claims to have spotted the
British Bigfoot after being confronted by an 8ft tall 'ape-like
creature' in Tunbridge Wells.

Has bigfoot been spotted in Tunbridge Wells? (Picture: Alamy)

The beast, nicknamed the 'Kentish Apeman', was spotted
recently on the town's famous 200-acre common amid a spate of sightings
over the past six months.

A man said he was confronted by the
creature, which had 'red demonic eyes and was covered in hair', three
weeks ago as he was walking home.

He said the beast roared at him
in exactly the same spot it was apparently first seen more than 70 years
ago, before he ran away.

An article detailing the sightings
appeared on the Tunbridge Wells People forum earlier this week, asking
local residents if they has seen the elusive sasquatch.

'One of
the strangest stories to emerge about Tunbridge Wells this week is the
claims that a British Bigfoot has been spotted in woodland near the
town,' it says.

'The Kentish Apeman has recently been spotted on
Tunbridge Wells Common - the exact spot where it was also apparently
seen 70 years ago.

'The beast is reportedly eight-foot tall, has red demonic eyes and is covered in hair.'

A local painter and decorator, named Graham S, claims he was told by an elderly client about a sighting in 1942.

'One
particular day she went to the common with her husband and was sitting
on a bench when they became aware of a shuffling noise behind them,' he
explained.

'Upon turning around both her husband and herself saw
what she described as a tall, hairy ape like creature with eyes that
were burning a reddish colour and it was moving towards them at a slow
pace.'
He added: 'They observed this creature for some time until they became afraid and they both fled - terrified.

'She
went on to say that they told the police and members of their family,
thinking that a gorilla had escaped from a zoo, but were laughed at and
were not believed.'

You
see some strange things in and around the county, but perhaps this
could be the weirdest yet, after claims a British Bigfoot has been
spotted in woodland near Tunbridge Wells.

Dubbed the Kentish Apeman, it is claimed he towers eight-foot tall, is covered in hair and has red demonic eyes.

And while that may sound like lots of people after a night on the town,
what's intriguing many is the fact a recent sighting ties in with one
nearly 70 years ago on the same spot.

The most recent sighting is believed to have taken place last month on
Tunbridge Wells Common - the 200-acre wooded site which sits in the
centre of the town and is one of its most picturesque features.

But after it was reported, it jogged the memory of another local
resident who went online to reveal how it tallied closely with a story
he had heard years ago.

The author, who billed themselves as Graham S from the town, revealed
how when he was working as a painter in the house of an elderly lady,
she regaled him with a tale of coming face to face with the apeman on
the Common during World War Two.

The post read: "One particular day she went to the
Common with her husband and was sitting on a bench when they became
aware of a shuffling noise behind them.

"Upon turning around both her husband and herself saw what she described
as a tall, hairy ape like creature with eyes that were burning a
reddish colour and it was moving towards them at a slow pace. They
observed this creature for some time until they became afraid and they
both fled - terrified.

"She went on to say that they told the police and members of their
family, thinking that a gorilla had escaped from a zoo, but were laughed
at and were not believed."

Sceptics may say the incidents could be down to a trick of the light,
but Neil Arnold, a paranormal expert from Rochester, said he has
received numerous reports of the apeman over the years.

One of the sightings took place in Dartford by a girl named Charlotte
who was heading home in her car from the University of Kent. She said
she saw a creature with long arms and knees which came up under its chin
as it walked. She was so petrified she nearly crashed her car.

Other sightings, according to Mr Arnold, include five members of the
Territorial Army in 1991 spotting the beast on Blue Bell Hill, near
Maidstone, and throwing stones and shouting at it before running away.

Another sighting in Chatham by a young girl with her partner saw the apeman appear then run off into the bushes.

Mr Arnold, who doesn't believe the apeman to be a flesh and blood
'monster', but a paranormal figure, has also had reports from Maidstone
and Hythe. In each example the figure appears the same and Mr Arnold
said tales of an apeman date back decades.

He said: "It's a very touchy subject in the sense that these things are
really not normal. I get some unusual reports. There have been reports
all over England, but we can never prove something paranormal."

Mr Arnold said he believes the reports could be similar to folklore tales which described 'wild men of the woods'.

He also compared the apeman to fictional children's character Stig of
the Dump, which could have been inspired by a sighting as the author,
Clive King, grew up in Kent.

Searching newspaper archives for the older sighting (checking 1938-1948) I found nothing. More hoaxing going on.